Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34359221›Full record

ArticleAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI2021

Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability Change with Sleep Stage in Dairy Cows.

Laura B Hunter, Marie J Haskell, Fritha M Langford, Cheryl O'Connor, James R Webster, Kevin J Stafford

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.3field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Non-invasive physiological indicators of welfare in dairy cows.Animal welfare (South Mimms, England) · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Laura B HunterAnimal Behaviour and Welfare, Ethical Agriculture, AgResearch Ltd. Ruakura Research Centre, Hamilton 3214, New Zealand.ORCID 0000-0002-0684-9457
Marie J HaskellAnimal Behaviour and Welfare, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9373-0624
Fritha M LangfordAnimal Behaviour and Welfare, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK.
Cheryl O'ConnorAnimal Behaviour and Welfare, Ethical Agriculture, AgResearch Ltd. Ruakura Research Centre, Hamilton 3214, New Zealand.
James R WebsterAnimal Behaviour and Welfare, Ethical Agriculture, AgResearch Ltd. Ruakura Research Centre, Hamilton 3214, New Zealand.
Kevin J StaffordSchool of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Palmerston North 4474, New Zealand.
Scotland's Rural College · GBAgResearch · NZMassey University · NZ

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Changes to the amount and patterns of sleep stages could be a useful tool to assess the effects of stress or changes to the environment in animal welfare research. However, the gold standard method, polysomnography PSG, is difficult to use with large animals such as dairy cows. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) can be used to predict sleep stages in humans and could be useful as an easier method to identify sleep stages in cows. We compared the mean HR and HRV and lying posture of dairy cows at pasture and when housed, with sleep stages identified through PSG. HR and HRV were higher when cows were moving their heads or when lying flat on their side. Overall, mean HR decreased with depth of sleep. There was more variability in time between successive heart beats during REM sleep, and more variability in time between heart beats when cows were awake and in REM sleep. These shifts in HR measures between sleep stages followed similar patterns despite differences in mean HR between the groups. Our results show that HR and HRV measures could be a promising alternative method to PSG for assessing sleep in dairy cows.

Indexed as

dairy cowsheart rateheart rate variabilitypolysomnographysleep

Identifiers

PMID34359221
PMCPMC8300193
OpenAlexW3180424017

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.